Fröhlich Info AG is the winner of the Phoenix Award 2024 in the category "SMEs with up to 50 employees"

The Phoenix Award has been presented annually since 2020. The award honors Swiss SMEs that have mastered their succession planning for at least a century. Companies that have existed for such a long time have already had to overcome several crises such as world wars and economic crises and rise anew like the "Phoenix from the ashes". The focus as potential award winners is therefore on Swiss SMEs that are 100 years old in the respective year or have been entered in the Swiss commercial register for 100 years.

An SME from the canton of Zurich honored for the first time

Two generations of the family business were delighted to accept the award in person: Rafaela Devonas-Eberle and Flurin Devonas (4th generation), management, and Claudia and Heinz Eberle-Fröhlich (3rd generation), Board of Directors. A glittering milestone in the centenary year of the Zollikon-based company.

The award certificate was presented by Hans Jürg Domenig, President of the CHDUtogether with laudator Anja Jenner, member of the Phoenix Award jury and family entrepreneur. In her laudatory speech, she praised the company with these words, among others: "To continue to exist in such a unique way - with very healthy self-confidence, incredible courage and unwavering commitment - in an industry that has been pushed back by digitalization has my full respect. This, in combination with a succession that has been initiated early on from generation to generation and has now led to a successful handover to the fourth generation, is both remarkable and worthy of emulation."

Samuel Mösle, Co-Head of Location Promotion for the Canton of Zurich, also offered his personal congratulations: "I am delighted that Fröhlich Info AG is the first SME from the Canton of Zurich to receive the Phoenix Award this year. It is an incredible achievement to keep a company 'running' for 100 years and to successfully overcome challenges ranging from succession planning to constant change in the market and the world of work. In the canton of Zurich, there are currently around 20 companies every year that succeed in doing this. Fröhlich Info AG is one of them and we, the Zurich Department of Economic Affairs, are very pleased that such companies exist. The CHDU's Phoenix Award gives such companies a showcase and can act as a beacon and inspiration for other companies. We very much welcome this."

Sascha Ullmann, Mayor of the municipality of Zollikon, also congratulated the award winners personally at their company headquarters. He was delighted that a long-established family business was once again able to successfully arrange its succession, "so that the past also has a future", as he put it.

Fröhlich Info: A company with attitude

"Welcome to a journey through 100 years of passion, innovation and family cohesion!" is the inviting first sentence of the chronicle that the family members of Fröhlich Info AG have compiled to mark their anniversary. It is an exciting journey, characterized by strong female personalities who are still running the company today in the fourth generation - always in collaboration with their husbands.

Hedwig Baumann-Zolliker, who came from a family of entrepreneurs and ropemakers, kicked things off. Together with her husband Albert Baumann, she founded "Albert Baumann-Zolliker, Seilerwaren, Lederwaren und Papeterie" in 1924, based at Fröhlichstrasse 178 in Zurich. It becomes apparent early on that advertising and printed matter are enjoying steadily growing customer demand. In line with the market and demand, the young company with its pioneering spirit gears its range accordingly, develops new ideas for business stationery, for example, and boldly sets its sights on growth. This strategy runs like a red thread through the company's history to this day. This also applies to the early involvement of the next generation in their parents' business, including the early clarification of succession.

But there is much more that makes this family-owned company a pioneer in the industry. These include the introduction of its own pension fund for employees and later the early use of digitalization to create new offerings such as speed publications. The leap into the technological age was successful and brought the company healthy growth. However, the careful use of natural resources and the environment, equality between men and women, and training for employees, especially apprentices, have always been, and still are, paramount to the company's success. In other words: Fröhlich Info AG is a company with an attitude.

Courage, change of perspective and pioneering spirit inspire the jury

A principle that, in combination with the long-term success, convinced the Phoenix Award jury and jury advisory board. They summarized the company's award worthiness in these points, among others:

• Consistent and forward-looking succession planning as a fourth-generation family business with several family members working in the company
• Early further development of the printing company's business model through an expanded range of IT, information and infotainment services
• A major and long-standing commitment to sustainability: Comprehensive commitment to environmental and social issues, which has already won several awards
• A cultural project of its own: right in the middle of Fröhlich
• Entrepreneurial courage in times when publishing houses threaten to "die out": Takeover of the Zolliker Bote from TA-Media >> Preservation of a local newspaper and expansion to Zumikon four years later - Zolliker Zumiker Bote
• Strong innovation potential and commitment to preserving the print industry

"What a pleasure! We are honored to receive this year's Phoenix Award. It is a great recognition and also motivation to continue to follow our strategy and to always have the courage to break new ground. Of course, this is only possible with a strong team, which is why this award is a tribute to all of us at Fröhlich Info," summarizes Rafaela Devonas-Eberle in her acceptance speech, representing the third and fourth generation.

Source: www.chdu.ch